A 19-year-old American citizen who has been confirmed killed aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was remembered by his grieving relatives and friends today as a kind young man with a great sense of humor.

Quinn Lucas Schansman, 19, a dual U.S. and Dutch citizen, was on his way to meet family members who were vacationing in Malaysia when his plane was hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile.

Quinn was born in Fort Lee, New Jersey, but spent most of his short life in the Netherlands. He also had family in Georgia.

His father, Thomas, worked in San Mateo,
California, and New York City as an account executive for the Netherlands Foreign
Investment Agency, a Dutch government bureau that helps foreign
companies get established in Holland.

On Friday,
Quinn's grandfather Ronald, who was visiting his sister's home in
Woodbury, New Jersey, this week, made a statement about the tragedy
that claimed his grandson’s life.

‘You go through all the phases of mourning,’ Ronald Schansman told NBC Philadelphia. ‘At the moment, it's just mourning. And of course anger.

‘It didn’t need to happen. [It was] A senseless thing to do.’

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Quinn's Facebook page shows he was dating Floor van Dranen, who posted loving pictures of her with her boyfriend on Thursday after learning he had been killed

Quinn's family is from Hilversum in the north of the country. It was not immediately clear where his family was from in the United States

Rage: Quinn's grandfather Ronald Schansman, speaking from his sister's house in New Jersey, said their family demand justice for the 19-year-old and the rest of the passengers and crew of the doomed flight

According
to Mr Schansman, Quinn was on his way to join his father, stepmother
and siblings in Indonesia. From there the family were supposed to travel
to Bali for a week-long vacation before returning home to Amsterdam.

Now, Thomas Schansman is heading back to Holland, where he will await the return of his 19-year-old's son's remains.

'We want to know why,' Ronald Schansman said. 'Who shot?'

Quinn
Schansman's friend from high school described the 19-year-old as caring
and sensitive - the kind of boy who was willing to stick up for his friends and diffuse a tense situation with humor.

‘If
there was a fight in class he could cool everyone down again, made a
joke and it was like it never happened,’ Fabienne Schriek told NBC.

The U.S. State Department is still
checking to see whether there are more American victims among the 298
passengers and crew members on the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.

'At
this point, the individual that I mentioned is the sole person that we
can definitively say is a U.S. or dual citizen,' the President said in a
White House press conference today.

'At this point, having worked through the list, this is our best assessment of the number of Americans that were killed.'

He cautioned that more American victims could be identified.

'So cute!' According to Quinn's Facebook page he and Floor had been dating since last September. He commented on this picture #she #is #so #cute

Quinn also posted several pictures of him and his little brother. Quinn was supposed to meet his family in Malaysia for a vacation

Quinn posted this picture of himself on vacation in Malta with the hashtags #just #chilling

Quinn Schansman's Facebook page shows that he studied at international business at
Hogeschool van Amsterdam (the University of Amsterdam) and also lived in
the Dutch capital.

After
news of his death broke, in girlfriend, Floor van Dranen posted a
touching picture of the couple lovingly kissing. Condolences poured in
for the young business school graduate.

His Facebook page reveals that they had been together since last September.

Quinn is also a former player for the Olympia'25 soccer club. The
club is based in Hilversum, the city in northern Holland where Quinn's
family lives. His brother is currently plays with the club, the
organization said in a statement posted on its website.

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'We
wish the relatives, friends and acquaintances much strength to cope
with this unimaginable loss, huge blow,' Olympia'25 said in a statement.

According
to the latest information from Malaysia Airlines, only four passengers
remain unidentified. The new totals show that 189 of the victims were
Dutch citizens and 44 were Malaysia - including the 15 crew members.
There were 27 Australians killed, along with nine British citizens, one
Canadian and one New Zealander.

President Barack Obama has confirmed that 'at least' one American was killed aboard Flight MH17. The State Department is reviewing whether there were more U.S. citizens involved

Internal White House emails obtained by BuzzFeed appear to show that the White House knew shortly after the crash Thursday that there were not 23 Americans aboard the plane, as had been widely reported on Thursday.

President Barack Obama made very brief remarks about the crash on Thursday afternoon before a pre-planned speech in Delaware.

'Obviously
the world is watching reports of a downed passenger jet near the
Russia-Ukraine border. And it looks like it may be a terrible tragedy.
Right now we’re working to determine whether there were American
citizens on board. That is our first priority,' he said.

He then quickly returned to his prepared remarks, joking, 'It is great to be in the state that gave us Joe Biden. We’ve got actually some better-looking Bidens with us here today. We've got Beau and his wife, Hallie, are here. Give them a big round of applause. We love them.'

As the search continues, pro-Russian separatists who control the area
where the Malaysia Airlines flight was brought have announced they will
allow FBI and NTSB officials access to the area in an 'advisory role'.

Initial assessments from U.S. intelligence officials say that the Flight MH17 was blasted out of the sky by Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine using a Russian

It is believed that a sophisticated surface-to-air missile blasted Flight MH17 out of the sky. U.S. officials say they believe it was fired by Russian separatists who thought the plane was a Ukrainian military transport